CAUGHT STONE COLD
A joint team swooped on five properties on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast where they found dagga plants, cultivating equipment and a specialised hydroponics dagga lab.
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Five things you need to know on the local scene

Joint operation cracks giant KZN dagga ring

KwaZulu-Natal police on Wednesday bust a massive international syndicate allegedly operating a hydroponic dagga laboratory in Hibberdene‚ on the south coast.
The joint operation — which included members of The Hawks‚ National Intelligence Unit and home affairs — descended on five properties‚ including farms and townhouses‚ and made multiple arrests.
KZN Hawks spokesman Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said that the team‚ acting on information‚ clamped down on the clandestine operation — said to be worth hundreds of thousands of rands. — Staff reporter

Lawyer tells EFF: 'Pay back the money!'

Six former Economic Freedom Fighters Mogale City councillors who were expelled by the party last year‚ have been accused of failing to pay their legal representative.
Advocate Rodney Manzini of Mkhize Attorneys‚ which represented the councillors‚ said the former councillors‚ led by then EFF chief whip Smanga Mkhumbeni‚ owed him about R30‚000 in outstanding legal fees. — Staff reporter

Rand shows its muscles on Davos optimism

The rand was stable below R12 to the dollar on Wednesday‚ tracking a firmer euro‚ while a number of other factors combined to boost the local unit.
Global risk-on trade has seen major global equity markets extend record highs‚ while local sentiment has been buoyed by positive commentary from South African officials in Davos.
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said there was renewed optimism for SA’s economic outlook in 2018.
“People now see SA as a big opportunity‚” report ed Dow Jones Newswires. — Staff reporter

Traffic bosses talk tough on striking cops

The Road Traffic Management Corporation has vowed to deal with the “unacceptable” illegal strike by members of the National Traffic Police‚ who have refused to leave their base over workplace grievances.
The national traffic officers went on a go-slow on Monday‚ with half of the 40 officers per shift going out to enforce national traffic laws on the country’s major roads. — Staff reporter

Hawks bust cross-border car thieves

The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Unit has bust what it believes to be a major cross-border vehicle theft syndicate‚ with the arrests of nine suspects.
It said the suspects‚ arrested during a crime intelligence-driven operation‚ included five police officers‚ a Home Affairs official and three runners.
Some of the suspects were nabbed in different part of Limpopo and others in Pretoria. - Staff reporter

Pampering your pooch goes to pot

A Canadian dog-treat maker wants to produce a different kind of munchie.
True Leaf Medicine International Ltd is expanding into the nation’s fast-emerging marijuana industry. “Ultimately, we want to be able to produce “finished medicinal poducts” for people and their pets, it said. — Bloomberg

Tears of the clown who admits to teen porn

A well-known circus clown in the US has acknowledged he pressured a teenage girl acrobat into posing for pornographic pictures and has resigned.
The latest man to fall amid the country’s wave of sexual misconduct scandals is Barry Lubin, 65, who performed as a clown called Grandma for the Big Apple Circus.
Lubin admitted ithat in 2004 he pressured then 16-year-old Zoey Dunne into posing for porn pictures. — AFP

No funny, no money, bookseller wails as sales plummet

British authors have lost their sense of humour, at least according to one retailer.
WH Smith Plc, an ever-present on UK high streets, said a lack of funny book titles has dampened sales over the last 20 weeks.
“Book sales were more challenging due to the decline in spoof humour titles and no new, big publishing trends,” the retailer said on Wednesday. — Bloomberg

Don't go breaking our hearts, Elton

Elton John is to quit touring after nearly 50 years.
The 70-year-old star, whose record sales have been in decline in recent years, is calling time on the road after one last world tour, the Daily Mirror said. — Reuters